The fifty-cent piece is the common name of the Canadian coin

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....

 worth 50 cents

Cent (currency)

In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....

. It is sometimes referred to as a "half dollar." The coin's reverse depicts the coat of arms of Canada

Coat of arms of Canada

The Arms of Canada is, since 1921, the official coat of arms of the Canadian monarch, and thus also of Canada...

. At the opening ceremonies for the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint

Royal Mint

The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...

, held on January 2, 1908, Governor General Earl Grey

Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey

Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey was a British nobleman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the ninth since Canadian Confederation....

 struck the Dominion of Canada’s first domestically produced coin. It was a silver fifty-cent piece bearing the effigy of King Edward VII.

Though it is regularly minted, it is not made in large quantities (approximate annual average production of 450,000). It is very rare to encounter this denomination in everyday transactions, since there seems to be the mistaken belief among many Canadians that the coin itself is rare and thus of value in excess of 50 cents. Most times, when a 50-cent piece is exchanged in a transaction, it is saved by its recipient. Quite commonly, even bank tellers, upon being presented with 50-cent pieces, question the legality of the coin, because of the non-circulating status of the denomination. The coin occupies a similar status to that of the United States half-dollar coin

Half dollar (United States coin)

Half dollar coins have been produced nearly every year since the inception of the United States Mint in 1794. Sometimes referred to as the fifty-cent piece, the only U.S. coin that has been minted more consistently is the cent.-Circulation:...

. Newer vending machine

Vending machine

A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....

s do not generally accept it, even when they accept coins of both higher and lower value, but many older machines that were retooled to accept loonies will misidentify a 50-cent piece as a loonie

Loonie

The Canadian 1 dollar coin is a gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar coin introduced in 1987. It bears images of a common loon, a bird which is common and well known in Canada, on the reverse, and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse.The design for the coin was meant to be a voyageur theme,...

, thus allowing the value of the coin to be doubled. A largely unsuccessful attempt was made by the Royal Canadian Mint

Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and...

 to promote the use of the coin when a special edition was released in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth II to the throne.

The mint's website lists the 2007 coat of arms 50¢ piece as "rarely seen yet replete with tradition," possibly an acknowledgement that the coin is minted primarily for collectors rather than circulation.

History of composition

Years	Weight	Diameter/shape	Composition
2000–present	6.9 g	27.13 mm	93.25% steel, 4.75% copper, 2.0% nickel
1968–2000	8.10 g	27.13 mm	99.9% nickel
1937–1966	11.66 g	29.72 mm	80% silver Silver Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal... , 20% copper
1920–1936	11.62 g	29.72 mm	80% silver, 20% copper
1870–1919	11.62 g	29.72 mm	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper

1921 fifty cents

During the early to mid-1920s, demand for 50-cent pieces was minimal. Only 28,000 pieces were issued between 1921 and 1929. When greater demand for the denomination arose in 1929, the Master of the Ottawa Mint decided to melt the stock of 1920 and 1921 coins. It amounted to a total of 480,392 coins. The decision was due to the belief that the public would suspect counterfeits if a large number of coins dated 1920 and 1921 were placed into circulation. It is believed that 75 or so of the 1921 coins have survived, mainly from sets that were sold at the time. Long known as the "King of Canadian Coins", this piece brings a price commensurate with its rarity and reputation, with a high grade example (PCGS MS-66) having sold for US$218,500 in a January 2010 Heritage

Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auction Galleries is the world's largest collectibles auctioneer and the third largest auction house, with over $700 million in annual sales and 600,000 online bidder-members...

 Auction.. The highest graded specimen is graded by PCGS at MS-67 and sold (by Diverse Equities) year 2000 to a private collector for the then sum of $400,000. Today this coin would most likely bring $1 million dollars at an auction

Auction

An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...

.

2000-P fifty cents

The 2000-P 50-cent piece is another astounding Canadian numismatic rarity. Approximately 25 of the 2000-P 50-cent pieces were known to be minted. This makes the 2000-P 50-cent coin the rarest Canadian half-dollar ever produced. These coins were mounted into souvenir desk display clocks issued by the Royal Canadian Mint

Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and...

 to the National Ballet of Canada

National Ballet of Canada

The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...

. No more than 276 clocks were produced, however, about 25 clocks contained the plated, or "P," issue. This has led to considerable debate as to whether or not these coins were smuggled out of the mint by mint employees via some of the desk clocks. Both the 2000-P 10-cent and 25-cent issues are mired in similar controversy. Dubbed 'The King' of Modern Canadian Numismatics, this extremely rare coin is in high demand amongst coin collectors and investors.

Commemorative editions

Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Special notes
1967	Canadian Centennial	Alex Colville	4,211,395	Features a howling wolf.
2002	Golden Jubilee	Cathy Bursey-Sabourin	14,440,000	50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne.

First strikes

Year	Theme	Mintage	Issue price
2005	Coat of arms	2,298	$14.95
2006	New mint mark	5,000	$29.95